Braiding machine



NQv. 26,r 1929. s. B. BLAISDELL BRAIDING MACHINE Fild April 28, 1927 5sheets-Sheet Nov. 26, 1929. s. B. BLAlsDELL 1,737,405

BRAIDING MACHINE Filed April 28. 1927 5 sheets-sheet 5 i zz "lL invenzzof Jdney hifaeZZf Nov. 26, 1929. s. B. BLAlsDELL 1,737,405

4BRAIDING MACHINE Filed April'28, 1927 45 Sheets-Sheet 4 Fly-Z |W Hi!ffm??? arf-f E NOV. 26, 1929. l 5 B BLAISDELL ,737,45

BRAIDING MACHINE Filed April 28, 1927 5 sheets-sheer 5 ff? my?? fo 2f#drzegzzsde, y 0772 ga @www 'ab .placed by 14an Patented Nov. 26, 1929UNITED SIDNEY B. BLAISDELL, 0F PHILADELPHIA,

BRAID'ING Application filed April `28,

yEhis invention relates to braiding machines, each of which, in commonpracticeis provided Withu main Aplatform overv Which the bobbinscarrying the braiding threadsy are moved in a circuitous andintertvvining path,

Vsuitable mechanism beingprovided under the .take-off mechanism, whichare-positioned abovethe bobbinv platform. -Each machine Vis alsoequipped vvith` a separate driving pulley, va'control clutch, and a stopmotion.

Each braiding machine thus requires a ldefinite amount of floor space,and a certain amount of aisle space to permit an'operator 4to pass;between the machines.

In factories employing a numberof such machines, considerable space isvWasted by the separate.drivinggpulleys and the necessity of setting upline shafts to drive these individual machines. lAlsofor each machinefin operation a separate pulleyfmust be'lprovidedon the Aline'shaft anda separate'driving belt also provided. Thus Vitwvill be seen thataddition f to the valuable A'floor space The objectof my invention is toconsolidate a 4plurality of these individual machines, or

units, into a single machine, but at they same ltime retain the'independent utility lfeatures .of each'unit. According to theprinciplesof .my invention, a plurality-of braiding .units are mounted on a singleframe and-a single driving pulley is provided forv thev entire number ofconsolidated units, 4thusftheunits can be-placed close together andthereby conserve the'space otherwise Wasted in accommodating the-drivingmechanisms of the several independent machines, also, but one drivingvpulley isrequired on' the line shaft and one belt` connects'. thesepulleys, thus'a saving in lboth equipment and in ,upkeep-areaccomplished. f Obviously thelineshaft may be relindependent motor for,each consolidated machine, if-desired. l

The structure constitutingmy invention is PENNSYLVANIA, assrenon noFinnm'rv v ,MACHINE COMPANY, or WILMINGTON, DELAWARE, AconronATioNonnnnavrann 1 MACHINE 1927. Serial No. 187,301.

clearly illu'strated'in the accompanying drawyillgsof which: 1

Figlisa front eleva-'tion of an apparatus yembodying Ythe principles ofmy invention;

1 Fig.; 2 is aplan vievv, Withthe lower mechanism not shown;

F ig. 3 is a sectional plan vievv taken onthe line 3 3 of Y Fig. 1,vshovving the 'lo'Wer mechanism;

4f is an elevationof the drive end of the machine;

Fig. 5 is an elevation; of the oppositeA end of the machine," K Fig. 6vis an enlarged transverse sectional elevation taken on the lineiGf ofFig. 2;

'Fig 7 isa rearelevation ofl the mecha- Fig 9 isa plan..vie\v ofthefmechanism 4 shown in Fig. 8.

-In view of the fact that, no .invention resides in the. braiding units,perseand that the operation of such braiding units isV Well known tothose familiar with the art, my description thereof vvilllbe genera-l.

1 Each braiding unit comprises a base plate A anda superposed bobbinplatform B spaced apart4 from but rigidly attachedtosaid .base plate.,ln. the bobbin platformB is formed aA circuitous and intertvviningracevvay or slot b. Bobbin carriers C are slidably mounted on theplatform B and have projections c which extend through the slotV b to bevengaged successively by. a lug doneach gear of a train yof gearsD,which moves the bobbinV carriers along the. circuitous path b to rollsfhwhich are rotatably `moainted ,ina 5100 take-up head or frame H. Therolls L are Y rthese braidingfunits into one machine. For

this purpose I provide a main frame consist- Ving" of a pair oflongitudinally extending v members 1 and 1a spaced apart at one end l bya transverse member 2. The base plates A, A of the series of braidingunits'are secured to each of the longitudinal frame members 1. 1,bymeans of bolts 3, 3. Secured to, and at intervals along, the framemember 1 are bearings 4, 4, in Which is rotatably mounted a main shaftV5. One eXtreme end of the shaft 5 is mounted in a bracket 2a formedintegral With the transverse spacing member 2.

Adjacent each of the bea-rings 4, a spur gear 6 is lsecured to the shaft5 and meshes with a spur gear 7 which is rotatably mount Aed on a stud8secured in one leg 9 of a bracket 10. The brackets 10 are each securedto one of the base plates A of a braiding unit, and provides bearings 11and 12 for a short upright shaft 13. On each shaft 13, adjacent thebearing 11, is loosely and rotatably mounted a bevel gear 14 whichmeshes VWith a bevel gear 15'formed ony one side of the said spur gearAbove the bearing 11 a spur gear 16 is secured to the shaft 13, andmeshes with one of the gears of the gear train D of the respectivebraiding unit. Clutch teeth 17 are formed on the under side of the gear14, which are adapted to be engaged by clutch teeth 18 formed on acollar 19 splined to the shaft 13. Y

Each clutchcollar 19 is controlled by a lever 2O which loosely fitsaround the respective vertical shaft 13 and has a tail 21, looselyfitting Within an aperture 22 formed in the bracket 10 which acts .as afulcrum for the lever and prevents its rotation around thenshaft 13. Avertically extending link 23 is'pivotally attached at 24 to the lever20, and extends through an aperture formed in an arm 25 attached to theunder side of the 'bobbin platform B of each braiding unit.

Above the arm 25, each link 423 is provided With a notch 26 into Whicharetaining latch 27 is adapted to enter and .hold the teeth of theclutch` collar' 19 inengagement with the Vclutch teeth on the gear 14,thus theV gear train D is setin motion. "j

' Each lretaining latch 27. is secured Y`to `a vertical shaft 28,thevlower. en d of which is rotatably mounted in the bobbin platform BfAn arm 29 is integrally formed on each retaining latch 27,V andisoperatively connected bya link 30 witha stop motion trip latch31'pi`voted at 32 to the top ofthebobbin table B. The stop motion triplatch 31 has a finger 33 which lies in the path of and is adapted to beengaged by the stop motion Weight F When a thread e breaks and permits Yybracket secured to the spacing bar 2. The

bracket 40 has an extension 41 provided With a flange having notches 42and 43 formed therein for the reception of one end of a resilientlocking element 44 Which is secured at its opposite end to the clutchoperating lever 38.

Standards 45, 45 are secured to and extend vertically from the lowermain frame of the machine and the oppositely disposed pairs of standardsare connected attheir upper ends by transverse members 46, 46'and46a. Alongitudinally extending bar 50 is secured to these transverse membersand, together With said transverse members, acts 'as/an upper orsupplemental frame for the support of the take-up heads II and thetake-off reels J The take-up heads H are secured directly to thelongitudinal upper-frame member 50. The take-off reels J are rotatablymounted in elongated bearing brackets 49, 49 secured to the frame member50. n

Bearings, 51, 51 Varesec'ured toz the said upper-frame member 50yandrotatably support a longitudinal shaft 52 Which is providedWith'gears 53, 53 loosely mountedA on and slidably movable with respectto the shaft 52.V The gears 53 each mesh With and` drive a gear 54Whichis secured to the shaft I of each take-up head I-I. Each gear 53 isformed on one end' of a sleeve 55, on the opposite end of which isformed a flange 56 having'clutch teeth 57, adapted to engage similarclutch teeth 58 formed on a collar 59 secured to the shaft 52, thus thegears 53 'firv Yll() are driven. vA ratchet Wheel 60 is also Y formed onthe sleeve 55 With which a re- .Y Y silient. paWl 61, secured to theupper frame '.115 Y member 50, cooperates'.

VThe upper end of each of the vertical shafts 28 is journaled in abearing 62 secured tothe upper-frame member 50. Above ythe bearing 62 ayoke lever63 is secured to each shaft 28, the forked' end of Which hasprojections 64 thereon Which enter a'groove 65 formed on the sleeve 55"between the flange 56 and vthe ratchet Wheel 60 thereof. A spring66'hasone of its ends'secured'to the lever 63, and its oppositeendsecured to a post 67v projecting vertically from the upperframemember'O, andtends to maintain the clutch teeth 57- of the sleeve 55inengagement AVV With-the clutch teethS of'lthe collar '59 yon theslaaf-552.

'The shaft `52 is" driven :from the main shaft 5 by means-of avbeve'l`gear-68, secured tothe sha-ift ,5,1w`hich1 meshes with a bevel gear 69secured-tothe-lower end of avertical shaft 7 0. The lower end' of Athe'sha-'ftrOy is journaledin the transverse member 2 offthelower frame7andthe upper end ofsaid shaft'is 'journaled in the transverse vmember46aof the upper frame. -Ay bracket-71 is secured to one of Vtheend-upright standards-,45` and has a Vbearing '72 surrounding l'thevertical shaft'70. -Between fthis bearing-72 andthe transverse member.l46, a-worm' 73 is -'secured tothe veticalfshaft fwhieh meshes withi aworm wheel 74: -securedto a short Yshaft 75. The shaft v 75 is journaledin bearing "76 formed on the bracketv 71, and has agear 77 secured tooneof itsen dslwhieh` meshes with a v-gear'78 securedito one endof thetake-up shaft 5.2, l

lnoperation,\power'is appli-ed to the pulley 35 which through the clutch36-37 drives the main shaft 5. The take-up shaft 52 is drivenl from themain shaft 5 in the manner above noted, thus the two longitudinal shaftsof the machine are adapted to be continuously rotated, while the clutchparts 36-37 remains in cooperative engagement one with the other.Obviously by disengaging these clutch elements the entire consolidatedmachine may be stopped.

The bobbins of each individual braiding` unit are carried around thecircuitous path of the respective units by the gears of the gear trainD, which are driven from the shaft 13 by the clutch collar 19 thereon.By disengaging the teeth of this clutch from those on the gear 14 thegear train D is brought to rest. but to effectthis disengagement thelink 23 must be released from the latch 27. To effect this release thesaid latch 27 must be rotated, thus the shaft 28 is rotated and by sodoing the clutch teeth 57 of the take-up sleeve55 are released from theteeth 58 of the clutch collar 59 on the take-up shaft 52, thus thetake-up rolls h are brought to rest, and to maintain the tension on thefinished braid between the take-up rolls h and the braiding mandrel Gthe pawl 61 functions to prevent haelt lash of the take-up sleeve 55.

Thus it will be seen that each unit may be operated or stoppedindependently of any and all of the other units, and adjustment, changeof work, or any other `necessary operations to be performed on one unitmay be executed Without interfering with the other unit-s, all of whichcan be forming vdifferent kinds of braids at the same time. 1t,therefore, follows that the independent utility features of each unitremain intact while a plurality of units are consolidated into onemachine having single driving mechanism and occupying a minimum offloorspace for afgivennumber ofunits.

"YVhi'lel have illustrated .a consolidated machine comprising fourunits, obviously such a machine .consisting 'of' two or more unitswould-'bex-within thescope of `my invention. Y

in vthe .drawing I' have illustratedl 'the main supporting frame 1 ashaving long legs'1b which raises the braidingunits to a positionVwherein .thez'operator can conveniently adjust and otherwise attend to'`the braiding units and 'the other. elements of the `consolidatedmachine, thus eliminating the cost of erecting the common woodenelevated platforms `generally constructed and employed for elevating thesingleuiiitbraiding machines now in general use; thesesingle machinesbeing provided with short legs-which raise the bobbin platform abovetheloor or wooden platform only a suflicient distance to' provideworking?- clearance forzthe:v elements of. the machine, which 1liebelow'` the said. bobbin platform. l. thereby attainla vconsiderablesaving in the cost ofinstallation where a number of braiding -I' claimz-1.Y In a braidingimachine the combination of ay frame; a plurality ofindependentbraiding units, leach of which comprises vthread manipulatingmechanism mounted` `on said frame andv take-up mechanism'mounted on saidframe above-said thread manipulating mechanism; a power deliveringelement operatively mountedon the lower portion of said units yis to :beemployed.-

frame for operating :the vthread manipulating mechanism. of s .theplurality of braiding units; a vpower delivering element `operatively:mounted on the .upper portion of said frame wand adapted to Operate thetake-up mechanisms iof said. braiding units-, means foroperativelyconnecting saidA power deliveringcelementga single operating mechanism"for driving-said power delivering elements; anindividualipowericontrolling mechanism for each threadmanipulatingmechanism; an individual power controlling mechanism`foreach :talle-up mechanism; means for synchronously operating the powercontrolfmechanisms of the thread manipulating mechanism and the take-upmecha'- nism of each independent braiding unit; and means forpreventingbacklash in said take-up mechanism upon operation of the powercontrolling mechanism thereof. 1

2.` In fa braiding machine, tion of a mainl frame anda superposedsupplementary frame, aseries of braiding units each comprising a threadmanipulating mechanism .removably i secured ltosaidfinain frame andincluding a train of bobbin oper'- ating-gears, and aftakeup mechanismremovablysecured ito said supplementary frame and having a'vmain.operatinjggear, a main shaft rotatably mounted :in the main frame,

the. combina- Y a short shaft foreach thread manipulating mechanismoperatively connected to the bobbin gear train thereof, mechanismincluding a clutch forvoperatively connecting said short e shaft withthe said main shaft, a latch-controlling said-clutch, a eontrolfshaftextendingv between said main and supplementary frames on whichsaid'latch is secured,ran upper' shaft rotatably mounted on saidsupplementary frame and operatively connected to said mainy shaft, aseries of pinionslOOSely mounted on said upper shaft and respectivelymeshing with the operating gears of said takeup mechanisms, a clutch foroperatively coni necting each pinion to said upper shaft, and

Va pinion clutch operating lever secured to said control shaft, wherebyrotation of the control shaft of any individual braiding unit Willeffect operation ofthe thread manipulating and take up clutches of saidunit.

3. In a braiding machine, the combination of a main frame and asuperposed supplementary frame, a series of braiding units eachcomprising a thread manipulating mechanism removably secured to saidmain frame and including a train ofbobbin operating gears, and a take upmechanism removably secured to said supplementaryv frame and having amain operating gear, a main shaft rotatably mounted in the main frame, ashort shaft for each threadmanipulating mechas nism operativelyconnected to the bobbin gear train thereof, mechanism including aclutchfor operatively connecting said short shaft with the said main shaft, alatch vcontrolling Y said clutch, a control shaft extending between saidmain and supplementary frames on which said latch is secured, an uppershaft rotatably mounted on said supplementary frame and operativelyconnected to said main shaft, a series of pinionsv loosely mounted onsaid upper shaft and respectively meshing with the operating gears ofsaid takefup mechanisms, a clutch for operatively connecting each pinionto said upper shaft, a pinion clutch operating lever secured to' said Ycontrol shaft, whereby rotation of the control shaft of any individualbraiding unit will Veffect operation of the thread manipulating and takeup clutches of said unit, and means associated with each bobbin foroperating said control shaft when the thread carried by said bobbinbreaks or becomes slack, to disengage said clutches. Q

4. In a braiding machine, the combination of almain frame and asuperposcd supplef mentary frame, a series of braidingunits each latingmechanism operatively connected to the bobbin gear train thereof,mechanism including a clutch for operativelyy connecting said shortshaft with the said main: shaft, a latch controlling said clutch, acontrol shaft extendingbetween said main and supplemen-` tary frames onwhich said latch isrse'cured, an upper shaft rotatably mounted on ysaidsupplementary frame and operatively connected to said mainshaft, aseries of pinions loosely mounted on said upper shaft and respectivelymeshing with the operating gears of said take up mechanisms, a clutchforoperatively connecting each pinion.to said upper shaft, a pinion clutch'operating lever secured to said control shaft, whereby rotation ofthecontrol shaft` of any individual braiding unit will effect operation,of thel thread manipulating and take up clutches of said unit, andmeans for preventing back lash of said take up operating pinion vwhensaid pinion is disconnected from said upper shaft. SIDNEY BBLAISDELL.

comprising a thread manipulating mechanism removably secured to lsaidmain frame and yincluding a train of bobbin operating gears, and atakefup mechanism removably secured ,to said supplementary frame andhaving a main `operating gear, a main shaft .rotatably Amounted in .themain frame, a short shaft for each thread manipu-

